The present invention relates to rack-mounted modular electronics assemblies, and is primarily concerned with facilitating the mounting and demounting of removable units such as media drives, power supplies, etc. to and from modules of a rack mounted assembly. Specifically, the invention is concerned with providing a means for tool-free mounting and demounting of removable sub-assemblies, while providing electromagnetic radiation shielding to the assemblies when mounted.
In rack mounted modular electronics systems, each module comprises a housing which contains a number of sub-assemblies such as power supplies, media drives, processing units, memory units, etc. connected to a motherboard which is mounted within the module housing. In order to minimise downtime due to faults, many of the assemblies are made removable from the module so that they can be easily replaced when faulty. In the case of media drives such as CD ROM or DVD drives, which are substantially rectangular planar units having a front flange and a rearwardly facing electrical connection on the side opposite the front flange. To mount such a media drive in a module of a rack-mounted system, the module is provided on its front face with an opening through which the media drive is insertable, and internally the module is provided with a sleeve aligned with the opening and dimensioned closely to surround the media drive. The sleeve is provided at its end remote from the opening with an electrical connector which is aligned and engaged with the connector of the media drive when the drive is inserted into the module. Typically, the drive is secured to the module either by fasteners attaching the front flange of the drive to the front face of the module housing, and has a drive retaining means provided at the end of the sleeve adjacent the electrical connection.
If the drive is to be removed for replacement, then it is either necessary to use tools to remove the fasteners in the drive flange, or it is necessary to remove the module from the rack, open the module and disengage the retaining means at the other end of the drive.
In either case, this demounting method is time-consuming and increases the downtime of the module.
To provide electromagnetic radiation shielding between the sleeve and the module, the sleeve is conventionally provided with resilient contacting fingers which engage the surface of the media drive. These fingers are relatively fragile and are easily damaged when the drive is inserted and removed. If the fingers become damaged, then the sleeve will need to be replaced which is a major operation requiring disassembly of the module housing.
The present invention seeks to provide a mounting arrangement for mounting removable sub-assemblies in electronics modules, the mounting arrangement providing for tool-free removal of the demountable units and reliable electromagnetic radiation protection.